Dallas Test Drives a Leonardo

Art in America reports the active interest of the Dallas Museum of Art in acquiring the recently re-attributed Salvator Mundi:

A painting recently re-attributed to Leonardo da Vinci that once brought £45 at auction and now said to be priced around $200 million may soon find a new home at the Dallas Museum of Art.

The painting on wood panel, Christ as Salvator Mundi, circa 1499, was included in the wildly popular 2011 exhibition “Leonardo da Vinci: Painter at the Court of Milan” at London’s National Gallery. It is now in the hands of a group of unidentified dealers.

Jill Bernstein, the museum’s chief communications officer, confirmed to A.i.A., “We have brought Leonardo da Vinci’s recently re-discovered masterpiece Salvator Mundi(Savior of the World) to the DMA. We are actively exploring the possibility of acquiring it.” Measuring about 26 by 18 inches, the painting shows Christ holding a glass orb in his left hand, with his right hand raised in benediction.